I spent four years as Forbes' Girl Friday, which to me meant doing a little bit of everything at once. As a member of the Forbes Entrepreneurs team, I looked at booming business and startup life with a female gaze. I worked on the PowerWomen Wealth and Celebrity 100 lists, keeping my ears pricked and pen poised for current event stories--from political sex scandals to celebrity gossip to international affairs. In 2012 I helped to put two South American women on the cover of FORBES Magazine: Modern Family star Sofia Vergara (the top-earning actress on U.S. television) and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is transforming the BRIC nation into an entrepreneurial powerhouse. Prior to Forbes I was at the Philadelphia CityPaper, where I learned more than any girl ever needs to know about the city's seedier trades. I studied digital journalism at The University of The Arts.
I left Forbes in November, 2013, to pursue other interests on the West Coast.

Girl On Girl Crime: When Being Too Pretty Costs You The Job

Would attaching a photograph to your resume help or hinder you on the job hunt?

According to a new study, written up in the latest issue of The Economist, that depends on who’s hiring. But surprisingly, we’re not talking about the kind of company here–Hooters or TGI Fridays likely have similar hiring policies. Instead, we’re talking about the human resource professionals who, thumbing through resumes, act as the gate-keepers to employment around the world. Are they men or women?

Because sadly, oh-so-uncomfortably, it matters.

Two Isreali researchers, Bradley Ruffle at Ben-Gurion University and Ze’ev Shtudiner at Ariel University Centre, came to this conclusion recently after conducting an experiment to test the importance of photographs for job applicants for both “attractive” and “unattractive” men and women. (Yes, according to The Economist all candidates were evaluated both for their attractiveness and perceived level of intelligence before signing on to the experiment.) We’ll let that fact go while we get into the really upsetting–if potentially-true–findings.

Fake applications were sent out to over 2,500 job openings, two to each job: one with a photo and one without. The researchers then studied the likeliness of scoring an interview based on responses (or radio silence) to each submitted resume. The theory upon beginning the experiment was simple: resumes with attractive photos would receive the highest response rate.

For men, that theory proved correct. Attractive dudes were more likely to get a callback if their photo was attached to their resume, whereas ugly duds fared better is they left their photo off. But where women were concerned, the tables were turned. Attractive women were actually less likely to be called in for an interview if they attached a self-portrait. In fact, according to The Economist, “an attractive woman would need to send out 11 CVs on average before getting an interview; an equally qualified plain one just seven.”

As you brilliant readers are sure to remember, the participants had been rated on how intelligent they looked in addition to their hot-or-not rating, and so researchers were able to dispell the “dumb blonde” theory in which attractive women are considered stupid. (Although this, we know is not true. Multiple studies confirm that attractive women do better with salary, advancements and so on and so forth.) No, it must be something else:

So the cause of the discrimination must lie elsewhere. Human resources departments tend to be staffed mostly by women. Indeed, in the Israeli study, 93% of those tasked with selecting whom to invite for an interview were female. The researchers’ unavoidable—and unpalatable—conclusion is that old-fashioned jealousy led the women to discriminate against pretty candidates.

Readers: I’ll leave you with that, and leave it open to discussion. I would like to say it’s inconceivable that female human resource employees are judging women through green-with-envy glasses, but I would be lying if I did. What do you think? Have you ever made a hiring decision because you were threatened by a potential hire’s looks? Let the anonymous commenting begin.

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I can see how this would apply to Europeans, who customarily send out photos along with their CV, but it’s not really common practice here in the States. I’d love to see a revised version of the study that takes Linkedin profiles into consideration. Assuming that HR professionals see the faceless resume first, then do digital diligence on candidates they’re interested in. At the stage of the recruiting process, would an attractive Linkedin photo still turn them off?

I think the more upsetting (not to mention interesting) point is that it happens, period, not where it happens (Europe versus the U.S.). Although you’re right, I’d be interested to see a similar study of LinkedIn profiles.

This is kind of funny because my general opinion of HR is that it’s full of “pretty girls”. But in that case it makes sense because I find that “pretty girls” are more likely to act on jealousy and a competitive desire to be the most attractive in an office if they can help it. A few HR women I know of have admitted to thinking twice about hiring a woman they find more attractive than they are. It’s sad but I think you’ve written more than one article about women not be cooperative with each other in business….will we ever learn?

A former aging male colleague refused to hire a younger, handsomer buff man who was the best qualified for the job. Everyone else on the search team wanted him, but our colleague was the lead decision-maker. That’s as close as I can get to answering your question.

Forget pretty…I was that but worse was I was female. I wouldn’t have had a career if my name wasn’t Daryl and I had to supply a picture. The only thing that got me an interview was my name. Imagine 5’2″, blonde, female in the 90′s and 00′s and even today if I was looking trying to get a job programming PC’s, databases, and the internet. At first it was a nightmare and I was hired out of desperation because it was a government job or I was the only candidate with a degree (if requirement) or that I was the only person who knew the product (worked for the software company previously) etc. I spent many interviews looking at the manager looking at me and looking at my resume and looking at me and looking at my resume unable to believe that they in fact represented one person. I contracted a lot because companies were more likely to take a chance on a novelty than someone hard to get rid of. Whether I was hired or not usually depended on whether, within his soul, someone was a bigot. If they had known ahead of time by looking at a picture….in the trash….if Mom had named me Bambi…in the trash even if I had been with Jobs n the garage or with Gates when Microsoft still had a hyphen (it was Micro-Soft for a very short time).

Though, I would prefer any male Pig boss to any female older, not as attractive boss. As I got older, it worked to have a younger, prettier female boss the one time I did. At, work, I felt the quality of my work spoke for me but most women were still competing for male attention and even at work, young and pretty gets it with men unless they need a job done well. Maybe almost never competing with other women on the job made me less bitchy towards other women but because I had to be better and was most of the time, my male peer group’s egos were devastated by me.

As a recruiter, I had the same first reaction to beautiful women, when screening CVs: “you are prettier than me!”. I was aware of my reaction after a few seconds and always reminded myself that I can’t be subjective or let personal preferences count in a professional context. On the other hand, I remember that I always prefered to present a short list of 3-5 pretty young women if I wanted to score and indeed it helped me close deals with my clients. The same went for handsome guys. So the survey must be true in terms of handsome men are more likely to get and interview and women recruiters can be gealous. This gealosy women recruiters experience when screening beautiful women’s CVs has deep and ancestral roots though and it would be unfair to call it just gealosy. Women are nesters& attention junkies and many couples (excepting teens) start their romance at work, not in a bar or club.

What I can say for sure is when I feel “threatned” by a prettier woman, I make the decision to be 50% more thorough during interviews (please don’t imagine a torture chamber), because if I do reject her, I wanna be sure the candidate’s presentation was the problem and not the interviewing technique.

p.s. I would be interested to read about a survey conducted on male recruiters and the chances a handsome guy has to be invited at an interview or get the job…

i recently had an experience similar to Daryl. I had successfully completed four rounds of interviewing with an internet start-up. I had the skills the company was looking for. I was a very good fit with the staff. I had some unique insights that would benefit the company and position. Everyone was expecting a rubber-stamp on the hire.

When the Marketing Director walked into the conference room, however, his entire expression changed and he focused on the single skill I didn’t have. Even when I mentioned that the staff, the people I would be working with on a daily basis, said it was “no big deal”, he was having none of it. Just like that, I was finished. I’m not sure whether it was my looks or my ethnicity. The director was either German or Russian.

I think it’s more about women seeking power (considering gender inequality is still alive and well) rather than acting upon “old-fashioned jealousy.”

The reach of patriarchy extends far beyond those pretty faces on resumes; its transparency allows it to remain unseen as a culprit and dismisses the very root of the problem, as perfectly demonstrated by this study. Patriarchy continues to reign in silence; fading into an obscure fog of “something else,” re-framing our perspectives and focusing blame on women.

My husband just flat out told me one day as I was out job hunting said “She’s not going to hire you because you look better than she does.” I was FLOORED and he was right. I never got the job and I applied 3 times and was qualified.

Hhmm… not true. Although I am not in HR but I manage pharmaceutical sales people and often have to recruit them. I tend to choose the better looking ones be it male or female as they tend to fare better wt the clients. In fact I rarely even grant interviews to those who do not attach photos on their CV.

The insecurities of these female Human Resources Personnel, doesn’t surprise me. I don’t have such insecurities, would hire anyone that was qualified, pretty or not…THAT’S probably WHY I was overlooked recently for a Human Resource Position…..LOL

The insecurities of these female Human Resources Personnel, don’t surprise me. I don’t have such insecurities, would hire anyone that was qualified, pretty or not…THAT’S probably WHY I was overlooked recently for a Human Resource Position…..LOL

I unfortunately have to admit that I was a victim of “the jealous boss”. The day I interviewed for my first full-time job out of college was for a recruitment office. Walking in absolutely confident (resume sans photo in my portfolio), I was met with that “dirty look” women give one another when being sized-up. I like to think I am on the attractive side of the spectrum, but as a tout feminist, it would leave a foul taste in my mouth if I were offered a job because I was “pretty”. Brushing it off, the interview went well (mind you I was interviewed by two very different women) and to the dismay of my immediate boss, I was hired. Four months passed and I was in training for a promotion due to my positive reviews and success at accomplishing my daily and weekly goals. The week before Christmas, 2010 I was fired without reason (possibly she felt her job was being threatened due to my fast advacement, or that I was building relationships with co-workers easier than she did, whatever the case may be, I’ll never truly know). Later, I was asked to interview as an HR intern for a company I have always wanted to work for. It went great, and I was asked to “come meet the girls” aka the rest of HR. I entered and met the familiar “dirty look”. I refused the internship and kept my part-time job. I still see them constantly trying to out-dress one another with the next best bag, coat, shoes and hairstyles. Days later, I accepted a full- time position for the same company I admired and am happily working in a male dominated office (where I am lucky to be able to wear jeans, t-shirt and flip flops and a baseball hat without being judged). Alpha females, either working for one or being one, are both a blessing and a curse. Still a newbie professional, I am better off having that bad experience with one terrible woman to make me a valuable asset today.

I find the discrimination by males of attractive women to be more pronounced. Perhaps not during the recruitment phase but once you are on the job. In some organizations, if you look young and are attractive no one expects you to have brains as well. When they realise that you do and you are pretty good at your job, the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome kicks in. I mean, its not fair that someone is attractive AND smart right? Plus, no man wants to be outperformed by a young, pretty FEMALE!! Just sit in the corner and look pretty young girl…

Hi, I agree with this article. I have to say that I have also fallen victim for unattractive people misjudging me and giving me a hard time assuming things soley based off my looks. Attractive people are just a s warm, intelligent and have big hearts as anyone else! I find that both genders judge attractive people, men assume you are pretty but stupid, and women do to. Unattractive bosses and people in general, tend to be more judgemental and care more about looks than the attractive people. They immediatly feel jelaous and threatened, if they are so professional and confident or compassionate and unconditional, then why show jelaousy or even feel the threat of? I think the unattractive bosses should consider their emotional intelligence level when judging an attractive person, just as we cannot judge or deny employment based on race and ethnicity, the same should apply for attractiveness. I also find the unattractive women to be hyporitical… turn the table on them, they will gladly hire an attractive man or dream of Johnny Depp or Tom Cruise, but preach how men should accept women as they are??? Men are also a problem because they are the reason why women feel jelaous. We allow men to come between us and allow them to make us fight? Men assume that pretty women want them which in turn leads to a threatening feeling or environment for the unattractive women, we shouldn’t let men do that to us! My suggestion is to use the attractive women as a tool to improve business and find a way where it can benefit or raise productivity for the manager, this in turn will allow the manager to look better and it will make her look more confident and intelligent! Otherwise you will end up looking more obviously jealous, everyone will know this and soon you will be known as the ugly evil jealous witch from Snowwhite or Cinderella, I wouldn’t want to make myself look like the jealous, its too obvious, everyone will know, it will eventually reflect on your ability to seperate business with your own emotional feelings, it will question your mental and emotional ability as a professional. I cannot wait until a law passes where we, attractive and pretty people can sue the ugly people from unemployment or other comments or judgements that interferes with ones ability to work, promotion or the ability to make money. I also feel that unattractive assumes that we don’t need to do anything but sit and be pretty, not true, I might want to do more! I also work to maintain a groomed polished look, I take care of myself, I work out, I care for my face etc..while I care for my 5 year old son and I just completed my Bachelors degree and will be applying for Law School next year.

I agree with everything you said Rita, and this concept unfortunately is very true. I’ve been straight out ignored by other women in my attempts to befriend them and be social, and I find that it is the less attractive women that do this. Other pretty women I meet are usually nice to me…maybe they understand how it feels? I’m very nice, funny and intelligent, so I know there is no other reason for them not to like me. Men are always very friendly and every job that I interviewed for where the hiring manager was male, I got it, and every time I’m interviewed by a female, nothing. Coincidence? Probably not. It’s a shame discrimination in any context exists, but especially because of how you look.

-we live in a very shallow world and believe it or not,being more attractive makes you an actual threat to other female workers,especially those who worked like hell to get where they are.Like it or not,pretty girls don’t have to work as hard because men think with their dicks with things like that.men only want to associate with women they want to f**k,fact of life.And worse,there is a particular group of disgusting men who use their jobs as a sex ring.a place where I lived had a controversy where a manager hired young black women with flowing weaves and serious curves as the only women there.fast forward to later when one of the girls told on him for his perversion and everyone got transfered and he got fired….so yes,because of this,your attractiveness could be a threat to female workers.what you can do and it is only common courtesy, is dress down.I’m not saying look frumpy,I mean less makeup, simple hair do’s ,flats and a pants suit.this will work in your favor too,as the women there will not judge you as harsh and the men won’t be leering perverts who may proposiion you.Now,somebody’s gonna say ‘it’s not my fault I look bettr than them’…no it’s not.but it IS your fault for bringing attention to it.wait til after work,then you can strut your stuff.but i am sick of hearing women make complaints about ‘boo hoo,i’m so beautiful that people don’t see the real me!’.umm,that’s because you don’t emphasize it.i am a very pretty girl (a plus sized princess if you will) and people treat me waaay different when i got on high heels,plunging cleavage and tights (i got these long ,lovely legs and am a 36DDD :) ) as opossed to a frumpy hoody,and baggy jeans.these ‘attractive’ women are bringing it on ourself.look professional,dress down and save yourself some trouble.